Disposable absorbent articles such as diapers, sanitary napkins, incontinence guards and panty liners are used to absorb and manage bodily exudates such as urine, menses or faeces. They can be manufactured so as to adopt a particular shape in use. Such shaped articles can provide improved security against leakage, as their form matches that of the wearer when in use.
For example, WO 97/17920 and GB 2 289 419 describe disposable liquid-absorbent articles in which pre-stressed curved elastic members are applied across the absorbent body. The elastic members deform the article in use to form a basin-type shape.
GB 2 289 417 describes an absorbent article having elastic means extending along the entire length of the article which define an outwardly convex curved path on either side of the longitudinal axis, so that the article adopts a bowl shape in use. GB 2 095 561 describes a disposable diaper having elastic strips 34, 36. A portion of each elastic strip overlies, and is bonded to, the pad.
WO97/17920 describes an absorbent article (e.g. incontinence guard) which has two or more curved elastic members arranged so as to provide the article with a bowl-shape. SE 520 411 shows an absorbent article (e.g. incontinence guard) having elastic threads above the core and elastic threads in the seams. U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,988 illustrates an absorbent article which has elastic material located under both the core and the seams.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,344 discloses a multiple layer absorbent article in which the upper layer has an acquisition zone of lower density to quickly acquire discharged liquids.
Absorbent articles which adopt a particular shape in use may provide improved fit, yet may also have problems handling large amounts of bodily waste, or rapid insults of bodily waste. There remains a need for improved absorbent articles which are designed to adopt a particular shape in use, said shape being able to receive, distribute and store large amounts of bodily waste rapidly and effectively. It is also advantageous that such absorbent articles can be manufactured in a simple, adaptable, cost-effective way.
Elastic members in articles of the prior art are typically located solely within an edge-seam of an absorbent article (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,344 discussed above). As the edge-seam is usually made of thin sheet material and is thus highly flexible, it is often the case that only the edge-seam is pulled up by the elastic members. In such a way, the edge-seam moves independently of the absorbent core. It is therefore common that the absorbent core remains relatively planar, and the bowl shape of the article is provided solely by the edge-seams. If elastic is only present on the absorbent core of the absorbent article, the edge-seam tends to hang loosely. It is advantageous if the shape of an absorbent article can be affected over a substantial portion of the absorbent article, and over as many components as possible.